Reject Initiative 594

SAY NO TO I-594

RANK AND FILE LAW ENFORCEMENT OPPOSE 594

Initiative 594 is an unfunded mandate that diverts scarce law enforcement resources away from keeping violent criminals off our streets making us all less safe. Do you want sex offenders released from crowded prisons to make room for people convicted of family-firearm transfer violations?

594 IS 18 PAGES OF COSTLY AND CONFUSING REGULATORY EXCESS

594 is punitive to lawful firearms owners. Proponents want you to “pass it so you can find out what’s in it.” Before you vote, consult your attorney to see how it criminalizes your behavior. Want to lend your sister-in-law a gun to protect herself? Want to loan your adult sons shotguns to go hunting? 594 makes you a criminal! A police officer who loans a personal firearm to a fellow officer would face criminal prosecution.

CRIMINALS WILL VIOLATE 594 LIKE THEY BREAK OTHER LAWS

Criminals will still acquire firearms where they do now: the black market, straw purchasers, theft and illicit sources like drug dealers.

594 creates a “universal” government database of all lawful handgun owners. We deserve the protection of a well-written background check law that protects the right of privacy for lawful firearms owners.

DON’T BE FOOLED BY EMOTIONAL AND FALSE STATEMENTS

We all want guns out of the hands of violent criminals and the dangerously unstable who are a threat to people like us. But this is not the way to do it. You can’t change criminal behavior by criminalizing lawful behavior.

I-594 is a Costly Diversion of Scarce Law Enforcement and State Resources

• Q: What will be the fiscal impact on law enforcement of the far-reaching provisions in I-594? A: UNDETERMINED AT THIS TIME.

I-594 is a costly, unfunded mandate.

• Q: How many prohibited persons (convicted felons not eligible to purchase or posess firearms) are prosecuted in Washington State for illegally attempting to purchase a firearm on an annual basis? A: USUALLY NONE.

We need to enforce the existing law first and put those criminals behind bars.

• Q: How much will it cost local law enforcement to perform background checks on these firearm purchasers, 99% of whom are law-abiding citizens? A: UNKNOWN.

Every hour and dollar we waste on law abiding handgun transferees is time and money that can’t be spent going after and jailing dangerous criminals currently walking our streets.

• Q: How much does it cost Washington State and the Department of Licence to update and maintain the current database of law-abiding handgun owners? A: UNKNOWN.

But we do know the DoL is about six months backlogged and currently seeking hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to enter the names of law-abiding handgun owners into their government database.

• Q: How many employees and how much money will it take to bring the current government database up to date? A: UNKNOWN.

Likely at least hundreds of thousands of tax dollars.

• Q: How many DoL employees and how much additional cost will be required to add the private handgun transfers, regulated by I-594, to the database? A: UNKNOWN.

Every dollar we waste on the law abiding firearm owners is a dollar that can’t be spent going after and jailing the real criminals currently roaming our streets and neighborhoods.

• Q: Would 594 be affective in stopping criminals? A: NO.

Most criminals obtain firearms through theft, on the black market, or through straw purchasers. Straw purchasers already pass background checks and then provide firearms to criminals illegally, they would continue to do so under 594.